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Dayton Postgame: Gaven, Meram And More

By: Adam Jardy

The Columbus Dispatch - May 29, 2013 11:52 PM

Robert Warzycha made no bones about it: the Crew was in it to win it as U.S. Open Cup play began
this season.

When the Crew opened with the Dayton Dutch Lions of the third-tier USL Pro, it had key players
at a number of positions. Designated player Federico Higuain was at forward, veterans Eddie Gaven
and Danny O’Rourke were in the midfield and starters Tyson Wahl and Gláuber were back on defense.
The only player in the lineup not to see MLS action this season was goalkeeper Matt Lampson, and
seven of the team's starters had started at least one MLS game this year.

The result was a 2-1 win and an injury to Gaven, who was carried off the field in the 85th
minute. The hope going in, Warzycha said, was to jump ahead quickly and get some of his key players
off the field in short order.

“We were hoping to score early so those guys wouldn’t have to play as much,” he said. “I didn’t
have anything set for the guys for how much they were going to play, but I was hoping to take some
guys off before they would have to play 90 minutes.”

Warzycha confirmed that Gaven was one of those players, but he offered few other details. With
the Crew ahead 1-0, Matias Sanchez was set to check in but was called back when the Dutch Lions
tied it in the 78th minute. The Crew took the lead back in the 84th minute on a Justin Meram
strike, and Kevan George was set to check in when Gaven went down with the injury.

Warzycha would not say who Sanchez or George were set to replace, although George did replace
Gaven after the injury. The veteran midfielder scored his first goal of the season and also
assisted on Meram’s goal before the injury.

“Eddie’s one of the hearts and souls of our team,” defender Eric Gehrig said. “He’s been around
for years now. You know what you’re going to get out of Eddie every day. Hopefully everything’s all
right. We’re just hoping that Eddie’s goodwill and faith is going to help him out here.”

Gaven is set to undergo an MRI tonight and hopefully we will have the results at Thursday’s
training.

The impact of having players like Higuain wanting to play in this game did not go unnoticed in
the Crew locker room.

“I think that means that we want to win this thing,” goalkeeper Matt Lampson said. “We want to
win the whole thing and we want to win every game that we play. I think the fact that we have
everybody on the team that has that exact same mentality should say something. Ultimately, it pays
off because we got the win. Hopefully in the forthcoming matches we get the same intensity and the
same mind-set from everybody on the team.”

Said Warzycha: “We want to take this game very serious, and that’s why Federico was on the
field. He’s the team captain and he wants to play, so that’s a message for everybody that we’re
taking this game seriously.”

Meram’s winnerAfter he said he endured criticism for an inability to finish, Meram notched his first goal
of the season with a right-footed bend from straight on that found the upper corner of the net.

“A lot of people have been criticizing me so I wanted to keep people quiet and put one in the
back of the net,” he said. “Today I just wanted to let everybody know that I can finish. I did it
last year and I’ll do it this year and I’m going to contribute as much as possible to this team.”&
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Gehrig said he challenged Meram when he came on as a substitute in the 65th minute.

“Justin came on and I told him to change the game and that’s what he did,” Gehrig said. “I’m
happy for him. He got off the schneid this year and hopefully it leads to more goals for him.”

Meram has started the last two games with forward Jairo Arrieta suspended. Arrieta will be
available for Saturday’s home game against Houston, but an injured Gaven would create another
opening in the lineup.

“We’re bringing the guys off the bench and want them to change the game and actually he did,”
Warzycha said. “That was a very good shot from outside. He did what he’s supposed to do.”

Last gaspThe final seconds of the match did not go quietly. With Dayton pushing for a final equalizer,
Lampson had his final save nearly bounce into harm’s way before finally collecting the ball.

“I was saying I’ve got to have a word with the field crew because I completely slid,” Lampson
said with a laugh. “It’s like I was going into second base. The legs went out from under me and my
knee hit the ball and luckily enough I was able to get on it. We’ve got to see if we can sort
things out. It could be from Rock on the Range. Who knows? Maybe we’ll have to stop that.”

Two minutes before Meram’s winning goal, Gehrig was there to clear a Dayton attempt after
Lampson made the initial save on a charging Brandon Swartzendruber. The deflection went back to the
Dayton forward, but his final touch was saved at the last second by Gehrig.

“That’s the epitome of a team right there and team defense,” Lampson said. “I’m sure he was
happy that I saved the first one and I’m really happy he was there for the second one. That’s the
epitome of this team, covering for each other and playing 100 percent for the guy next to us.”

Gehrig went the full 90 minutes after also doing so Sunday at New York.

“I felt (my legs) today,” he said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but I love playing this
game. We’re not going to give any excuses and we’re going to be ready for Saturday. We know it’s a
quick turnaround but it’s one game at a time. Coach stressed that the most important thing right
now is taking care of our bodies, so that’s what we’re going to do.”